Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has sought support from US Congressmen in dealing with the Rohingya crisis created by Myanmar.
He made the appeal on Thursday (Jul 18) at Washington, where he is visiting at an invitation from US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
Momen is participating in the Second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom being held in the US Department of State from July 16 to 18.
He met with Senator James E Risch (Republican - Idaho), Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat - New Jersey), Ranking Member of the same committee.
He also met with Congressman Eliot Engel (Democrat- New York), Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Brad Sherman (Democrat - California), Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Congresswoman Grace Meng (Democrat - New York).
A press release issued by the Bangladeshi mission in Washington said Momen thankfully acknowledged the strong US humanitarian and political support to Bangladesh.
The foreign minister requested the US lawmakers to persuade Myanmar in all possible ways to create a safe and secure environment in Rakhine state and take back all the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals temporarily staying in Bangladesh.
The US lawmakers commended Bangladesh’s generosity in hosting the huge number of Rohingyas and said that they would continue their efforts in this regard.
Momen and the lawmakers emphasised the importance of further expanding the trade and investment relations between Bangladesh and the United States, and deepening the excellent partnership in the coming days.